Fallacious
by notcrackers
Summary: He is the epitome of almighty, just like the organization he's been leading. But when he made Kuroko Tetsuka transfer to Teiko Academy, Akashi Seijuro was not ready to be proven wrong. AU! Fem!Kuroko
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: First time writing a Kurobasu story. I've watched the whole series and couldn't wait for the third season! I hope you like this story. **

**The setting is inspired by the manga Almighty X10 by Mizuto Aqua. Any resemblances to said manga are rightfully the author's. **

**And I do not own Kuroko no Basket.**

* * *

Chapter one: The Beginning

It was Monday afternoon, a few hours after school ended which was at one PM. Momoi Satsuki, a young female with long, cherry blossom colored hair was striding calmly from the Headmaster's room to a certain room not far away. She went inside and then rummaged her pocket for a key to one of the lockers inside the abandoned room.

It's funny how an elite, and secretive organization like _them_ had some shady secret base with an entrance like that. An unused, dusty old room.

But then again, being a manager for _them_ sure is handful, she thought as she tried to steady the papers that were grasped in her arms, at the same time her other hand desperately searching for the key.

After founding it she unlocked one of the metal locker and nipped over inside. Making sure she had turned on the lights by a switch on the wall, she locked back the door and then went down the stairs to a hidden room.

When she arrived, two of the members were already present.

"Ah, Momoicchi!" A blond greeted her while combing his hair and facing the mirror. She smiled at her friend.

"Ki-chan! You arrive early today, and you too Midorin." She remarked as she dusted off her uniform, earning a light chuckle from the blond, and a grunt from the other male.

Midorima Shintaro pushed up his glasses with his bandaged hand. "I come here only for the internet connection."

"Don't lie, Midorimacchi, you know that our dorm's WiFi is the fastest." Kise Ryota said with a sigh which earned a reply, "There's too much user so it became slow."

Momoi just giggled a bit, before coughed to attract their attention.

"Okay guys, I just got back from Shirogane-sensei and he told me we have a new mission." She began, and her words immediately halted any of Kise and Midorima's activities for a second or two, before both of them continued it once again.

Momoi shuffled her papers again, and informed her teammates "Keyword of this mission is _searching_'."

Midorima almost smirked after hearing the keyword. Searching and tracking had been his specialty after all. Meanwhile Kise was still listening to their manager intently.

"Our client is Kuroko Toshiyuki-sama."

The blond stopped combing his hair as hazel eyes already left the mirror, now staring at his manager. "Kuroko? As in, the Kuroko?"

"Yes, the founder and current chairman of Kuroko Insurance Company."

Kise stroke his chin. "Hee... That's interesting. And who're we going to search?"

"Actually, he wants us to search for his own daughter; Kuroko Tetsuka." Momoi informed them as both boys put on quizzical expression.

"His daughter? Why?" Midorima mused to his manager.

"Well, that's because this girl has been missing since a few months ago. The report says Kuroko Tetsuka had enrolled normal private schools and public schools until her father decided her to enroll home school. She was clearly not pleased with her father's decision, and one day, on the first day of new school year, just a few months ago, she ran away from her house."

"Didn't her father try to find her before coming to us for help?" Kise asked as he plopped down on one of the sofas. He would think Kuroko Toshiyuki as doofus if the man really didn't try anything.

"Of course he did. In fact, he'd sent his personal bodyguards but they all failed to catch her. They did succeed in locating her, but they 'always lost sight of her eventually'." Momoi informed them, quoting the words of her client's bodyguards that were written in the papers.

Both males' eyes grew wide slightly in shock. Now that's unlikely, a normal high school girl managed to evade professionally trained bodyguards. What did she do to escape from them? Even people that were good at hiding couldn't go that far.

That meant the problem didn't lie on locating her, but it actually lied on catching her. The question is; who will do it?

"Midorin, you will do the tracking as usual." Their manager said, walking towards a table where the green-haired teen sitting. "The data you'll be needing in the tracking is here; physical appearances, when she was last seen, pictures, even a little bit of CCTV recordings, but I'm sure you can find more by yourself! Oh, and it says that Kuroko Tetsuka always wears uniforms, she wears different one each day to hide herself, so be keen on it, Midorin. _Ganbatte ne! _" She winked at her friend as she handed out a few sheets of papers containing data which Midorima needed.

"Momoicchi, what about the on-field mission? Who will carry it out and bring our target to her father?" Kise asked. "You know this is not my field. Aominecchi and Murasakibaracchi are still on their mission, and—"

"I will do it."

An authoritative voice cut Kise's words as the three turned their heads in shock. There stood the leader of their team Akashi Seijuro with his usual cold expression.

"Akashi-kun," Momoi break the silence. "Did you say you would do the mission?"

The red head nodded at her. "That's correct."

"You never do missions, Akashi, since you are the leader. What's with the sudden change?" Midorima inquired, eyes sneering at the shorter teen. And their leader only smiled.

"Let's just say sometimes I want to try doing mission, just like you all. And it is a fortunate coincidence that we receive a mission from an important client like this." With his secretive smile, he explained to his teammates who were staring at him confusedly. "So I thought this would be a good chance."

Momoi sighed. "I understood. Well then, should I explain the mission detail once again, Akashi-kun?"

"No need. I have heard your explanation earlier. I will catch and bring back Kuroko Tetsuka by myself right after I receive information from Shintaro."

"But are you sure about doing this alone? This is your first on-field mission, after all. Maybe we could wait for Dai-chan, he could accompany you—"

"I assure you I can catch her all by myself. This could be my first mission, but I never fail at anything, and it will never happen." Akashi almost glared at her with his heterochromatic eyes, red and gold blazing with authority. "Don't question me, Satsuki."

The pinked haired girl flinched at the tone, and she only nodded in her fear. For some reason, even though she and other four members had known Akashi since middle school, she was still afraid of her own friend, especially when he glared like that.

Kise and Midorima both sighed at the scene before them. Meanwhile the greenhead tried to focus on his tracking instead, Kise decided to leave the room, and started to stride towards his room in the secret base to rest before shouting, "_Ja_, I'll be in my room then. Work hard, Midorimacchi, Momoicchi and Akashicchi!"

With those words Kise had somehow broke the heavy tension. His teammates stared, then Midorima and Akashi nodded at him.

The pink haired teen waved at her friend, "_Un_! Bye-bye Ki-chan!" And then she turned to their leader. "Okay then, Akashi-kun. As soon as Midorin finishes his work I'll send the results to you and you can begin your mission." She explained while realizing that the tension had somehow decreased because of Kise.

"Very well. I'll be waiting, Shintaro. It'll be better if you finish it soon, since we don't want to make our client wait for too long." Akashi demanded subtly.

The tracker only murmured "Understood." and his eyes were back on the computer screen again.

Satisfied with the answer, Akashi went to his room. The door slammed with an echoing thud.

And Momoi let out the breath she had been holding. Feeling relieved, she went to Midorima's desk and offered her help.

(Only to be rejected by the male.)

"Ne, Midorin... I wonder why does Akashi-kun suddenly want to do a mission." Momoi sat on an empty chair in front of the desk and put her elbow on the surface, fingers intertwining. "He's never interested in doing missions before, even though it's from important clients."

The greenhead sighed at her. "I have no idea," he said as fingers continued to type on the keyboard. "But knowing Akashi, he must have had a plan in his mind. He might be up to something."

"...Well, for Akashi-kun that's not really surprising."

Midorima nodded.

"Let's see what he's up to in this mission."

* * *

Meanwhile in the streets of Tokyo, specifically in Shibuya, a young female with baby blue hair shivered slightly.

_I have a bad feeling…_

The girl, Kuroko Tetsuka tried to shrug off the intuition as she stood up from the chair she was sitting at a small café, she patted out the imaginary dust on her skirt, then took the bill which she had already paid before walking out to the streets of Shibuya.

Today she wore a sailor uniform, summer version, of course due to the searing heat in the season. If she weren't mistaken, the uniform she wore is from Seirin high school. Different from the other school uniforms she got from usually second-hand stores, she got Seirin's uniform from a student there; her acquaintance, whose name is Aida Riko.

She met her when Riko accidentally spilled soda on the light-bluehead, after apologizing and even offering to wash the soaked clothes, she brought Tetsuka to the stranger's house and borrowed her some of her shirts. They chatted and Tetsuka told the older girl about her situation, and then Riko decided to lend her one of her uniforms (she had more than one apparently).

Riko also offered her to transfer to Seirin, if she wanted to. Tetsuka had said that she was interested, and would think about it.

But, the young female actually had problem in that. She didn't even know whether she could just transfer schools like she wanted.

Tetsuka checked her cellphone, seeing the time. It was three PM, finding nothing to do, she decided to visit the nearest theatre to watch a movie—

…

—Only to stop on her tracks when she felt a shiver down her spine. That was the second time for that day. Tetsuka increased her awareness to her surroundings, which made her guess that someone was currently following her.

Instead of looking around her, Tetsuka took steps towards one of the malls near her. Entering the mall, she searched the bookstore and visited it.

Inside, while browsing some novels she focused on her surroundings, she could still notice the presence of her stalker. She confirmed it. Someone was indeed following her. And of course, it must be one of her father's lackeys.

_Ah, this wouldn't be that difficult._

Or so she thought.

* * *

Akashi watched his target exited the bookstore, as he started to move as well. Kuroko Tetsuka was exactly like what he thought. She had a small presence that he realized when he just started following her at the beginning, he actually almost lost the girl a few times before he got used to her invisibility. Appearance wise, she was not striking, she was plain, even though her baby blue colored hair was a bit eye-catching.

And he could feel something from her.

Something, like a potential, but more of unusual skill, if he could say it like that.

He was definitely interested in her, that's for sure.

Kuroko Tetsuka exited the mall, to the streets and he could see the girl slowed her steps. He followed her a little more, copying the tempo of her steps. After a few moments, the girl stopped. And she just stood there.

Akashi narrowed his eyes.

And then she turned around.

"…So, when will you stop following me?"

The question actually almost took the redhead by surprise. He smirked, feet already striding towards a certain maiden, as he revealed himself in a rather classy way, just the way he is.

"My, my," his velvety voice mused. "That's surprising."

A pair of light blue eyes stared at him, possibly in a (very) slight alarm though it was almost unseen by Akashi. "No, you are not surprised. You knew I have realized your presence from a while ago." She spoke monotonously.

The statement only made his smirk wider. He discovered something new about her again, that his client (or target) was a lot more perceptive than he had thought. Perhaps that is exactly why even her father's personal bodyguards had always failed—let alone to catch—to find her.

The fact that his client had given up on his own personal bodyguards and leaving the task to a group of teenagers almost made Akashi feed his pride.

But being a _humble_ person he was, he didn't.

Instead, he felt honored. Akashi thought Kuroko Toshiyuki had made a right choice to give this task to them.

_Now, now, let us _professionals_ do the job._

But of course, he will make sure the way he did his job would put Kuroko Toshiyuki's personal bodyguards to shame.

"Kuroko Tetsuka-san, yes?" Akashi asked.

Ah, the redhead realize he automatically called her with the suffix '-san' instead of '-sama' like it was supposed to be. He refused to call anyone with '-sama'. No, not Akashi. Everyone in this job could call their clients with such suffix, but not Akashi Seijuro.

The bluenette before him didn't even flinch at him approaching her. Her expression had not changed at all, still remained indifferent as usual. Originally he wanted to praise her apathetic attitude, but then he chose to put on a business-tinted smile.

"Please forgive my rudeness to follow you like that," he began smoothly. "It must have caused inconvenience to you."

"What business do you have here with me?" Tetsuka asked straightforwardly, eyes still bore into his scarlet ones, unwavering.

He actually had to retain himself from responding with his usual authority-themed words and intonation, especially since she looked at him straight in the eyes. Then he answered her, "Kuroko Toshiyuki-san asked me to bring you back home. And I am sent from Almighty Company, you may call me No. 4."

A frown appeared on her lips, and he could guess that she was rather displeased by his answer. "I see." She nothing but murmured quietly before raising her chin and stared at him directly again, voice bold and clear as she raised her voice, "But I refuse to come with you."

Tetsuka saw the male's eyes of red and yellow widened slightly before he set down his head, his fringes hid some part of his actually good-looking face.

"Forgive me, Miss," he began, voice dropping low. Then he rose up his head, and smiled pleasantly, which made Tetsuka almost shivered. "But I cannot let my client be disappointed."

That's what it all took for Kuroko Tetsuka to start sprinting away from the redhead. Akashi, being his reflexive self immediately ran to catch up his target.

Being less visible than many people actually brought advantages to Tetsuka today. She was not a fast runner, but she was actually very agile, and with people not realizing her presence it'd been quite easy to get through the mass of crowd in Shibuya.

But of course, only running wouldn't make him stop catching her.

She turned one of the corners on the street, eyes darting between the streets and behind her. A certain redhead appeared from the corner and Tetsuka almost cursed inwardly before she sped up her dashing.

As her stamina started to betray her legs, the baby-blue haired female had to think up another plan to escape. And due to her aching legs, she knew she had to decrease the running.

Where oh _where_ she should hide?

Going inside a store or building was truly risky, if her capturer missed her, it'd be safe. But if he even saw her went inside... It'd be dead end.

Finally running out of ideas and strength, Tetsuka decided on one, risky plan. She would blend with the crowd. She knew she had the ability to do so, since she had a small presence with no smell nor aura.

But still, it's a gamble, she thought solemnly as her legs kept running and running. If that guy managed to find her inside the crowd, it'd no less than a dead end-therefore, a game over.

Then again, gambling like this was still better than getting caught by his father, better than living in the hell on earth, named the Kuroko household. Better than her usual life living as the heiress of Kuroko family.

She had missed her freedom. She had _claimed_ her freedom. And she wouldn't let it get away from her grasp.

Tetsuka turned another corner, halting her steps quickly.

And then she entered the crowding people of Tokyo.

Inside the crowds, she immediately went along walking with the pedestrians. She thought of something to hide her blue head, and she decided she would go along with a black wig that she brought with her. Quickly adjusting her wig, she then continued to walk inside the crowd.

So far, she had been safe. No redheads were seen.

It had been like this before, with her father's bodyguards. And usually after she blended in with the crowd, it would be game over for them. They would lost her and fail their mission once again. She was pretty use it would like that again.

After the throng of people became not that crowded anymore, and she realized she had walked quite a distance from the spot before, Tetsuka walked out and turned to find the nearest train station—

—Only to find her hand grasped by a certain redhead.

She glared at him, as he returned it, eyes hostile. _How?_ How did he find her? She tried to pry her hand away to no avail. Much to her dismay, his grip got tighter.

"You cannot escape, Kuroko-san."

* * *

"Good afternoon, Kuroko Toshiyuki-sama."

Akashi stared at the pink-haired girl as she made a call to their client. He had finished his mission yesterday, even though it had some changes that were 'accidental'.

Not that he minded though.

"Yes, we are from Almighty Company and we would like to inform you about the progress of the search of Kuroko Tetsuka—Yes, yes. We have found her, Sir. In Shibuya, last night." She spoke in business-hinted tone. "However Sir, we have something to report.

As you requested, we used neither force nor violence to your daughter, but regrettably Kuroko Tetsuka does not want to come back to the house."

Smirking, Akashi could hear shouts of protest from the phone. Momoi started to look panic, and when she looked at their leader for help, he immediately gave a gesture to give the phone to him.

"Sir, it seems like our leader would like to speak with you. He personally will explain the situation to you, Sir. Excuse me." Panicking, Momoi almost tossed the phone to the redhead, which he caught without difficulties, but he was definitely not amused by Momoi's actions.

"Good afternoon, Sir. I am the leader of Almighty Company Senior Division, you may call me No. 4." Akashi introduced himself flawlessly and full of charisma he could hear Kuroko Toshiyuki's voice calmed down a bit after hearing him.

"_Ah, yes. Could you please explain the situation? What did you mean by my daughter doesn't want to come home?"_

"Very well Sir. Last night we had already talked to her, after we caught her, and she told us that she really minds to go back to the Kuroko Household, which she refused to explain why exactly." The redhead explained over the phone, "So to bring her back we had to bargain with her."

"_Bargain? Can you explain more of this?"_

"She will have her 'freedom' by not living in the Kuroko household—"

"_Wait, what do you-"_

"But in exchange, she will go to Teiko Academy. And I personally requested her to join Almighty Company Senior Division as a member." He heard a gasp from the phone.

"_As one of you? Why my daughter? She never had any professional training of some sort."_

"But she has the potential." Akashi said. "Will you approve of this?"

He heard nothing but silence, and a few sound of breathing. He decided to continue.

"She may not be living in your care. But at least you do not have to assign a professional bodyguard just to meet your daughter, since she will be living in the dormitory. And I assure you, Teiko Academy advances in both academics and non-academics. I am certain you have heard of this."

"_Yes, I have, but…"_

"Kuroko Tetsuka-san said herself that she will not mind if you visit her at Teiko."

"_S-She said that?"_

"Yes."

"_Then... I suppose I could agree on this deal_." The middle-aged men intoned.

Akashi let a smirk appeared on his lips.

"_Thank you, No. 4._"

"You are very welcome, Kuroko-san." And he put the phone off.

Momoi immediately came to his side, asking frantically. "He agrees, Akashi-kun?" The leader smirked, satisfied. "Of course."

The door opened, revealing Midorima. He walked to Akashi and asked him directly,

"This has been your plan from the start, isn't it?" His tone was nothing accusing, it was purely curiosity. Akashi found no offense in the question, and he only smiled meaningfully.

His vice-leader had already found out about it, hadn't he? The teen chuckled inwardly.

_As expected from the perceptive Shintaro._

Everything was indeed going according to his plan. From him accepting the mission, until the target of the mission herself agreed to join their organization. Nothing went wrong.

But of course. Nothing will go wrong under his hands. Nothing will fail. He will never lose in anything, anything at all.

After all, Akashi Seijuro is absolute.

* * *

Kuroko Tetsuka stared at the wall in front of her, eyes empty.

She had finally accepted that male's offer. And to be honest, she didn't expect he would be interested in her.

"_You cannot escape, Kuroko-san." He said coldly at her. She stared at him, eyes back to empty and almost expressionless as she got her temper in control again._

"_I'm sorry, Number Four-kun. I don't want to go home." She expressed flatly._

"_Do you hate you father that much?" the crimson-haired teen inquired, which made her raised an eyebrow._

"_No, I don't hate him. I just don't like living in there." She answered truthfully. She didn't mind her father. Actually, she cared for him. But she loathed Kuroko Household, along with the waiters, maids, and butlers. She loathed them._

"_How about I give you an offer?"_

_Tetsuka's eyebrows rose slightly. An offer? "What offer?" She demanded politely._

"_Transfer to Teiko Academy, and you don't need to go back to your house." The Number Four said as the girl's aquamarine eyes went wide. "And one more thing, you will have to join us, Almighty Company."_

"_Why?"_

_He smirked._

"_You have potential. And from the chase earlier, you have proven to me that your skill might be more than I imagine. That skill of yours caught my interest, Kuroko-san. We would need your help in our jobs and missions. That's why I want you to join."_

Tetsuka thought that maybe their deal was not going to be that bad. Truthfully, she accepted the offer because of 60% wanting to get out of the house, and 40% curiosity of the organization. Or maybe it was actually 50:50.

…No. She was more interested in living out of the Kuroko household, of course.

(Voices in her head booed at her denial)

Anyway, after the light blue head accepted the offer, Akashi—he told her his name on their way back—led her back to this place, which turned out to be a secret room inside of the school building. They entered the place from another entrance, which was an old, unused stable or barn near the dormitory building. On their way to the base-camp, Akashi explained a bit about their organization.

Apparently, Almighty was a company where they train many young teenagers to excel in almost everything, which made them almost 'Almighty'—can do anything. There are three divisions; Junior Division—which was based in Middle School, Senior Division—High school, and the Main Division, which was based in mostly university level.

Tetsuka was going to join Senior Division, obviously, since she was in her second year.

But the team that she was going to join was different, according to Akashi. The team of six, including Akashi as their leader and a manager, consisted of especially skilled students.

People would call them the Elite Group of Almighty. And within the Almighty Company, they have a nickname; Generation of Miracles, since their skills and talents are just like miracles. (Tetsuka almost sweatdropped at this)

When they arrived at the base, Akashi explained something to a pink-haired girl, and then he told Tetsuka to stay in one of the empty rooms for the night.

And then they told her that the next day, she would be officially introduced to the team.

Which should be today.

Tetsuka heard a knock from the door, and she saw Akashi Seijuro.

"Tetsuka, it's time." He called. And for some reason Tetsuka forgot when did she allow him to call her by her first name. But not that she minded it that much.

She nodded at the redhead, before tying her long light blue hair into a ponytail, and then she stood up to follow the leader outside.

In the main hall which looked like a living room, two boys; one blonde and one wore glasses and had green hair were sat down on a sofa, and besides them standing was Momoi Satsuki who greeted her with a smile.

"Kuroko-san! Please come here." Momoi called her excitedly, probably happy with the existence of a fellow female in the group of boys.

Tetsuka could see the blonde's mouth gaped open. And the green haired boy's eyebrows furrowed. The newest member almost gulped.

"Okay, please introduce yourself. Don't be shy~"

The female nodded at the rosette. She took a deep breath, calming herself.

"My name is Kuroko Tetsuka. I will be Number Fifteen and will be training under the hands of Akashi-kun, a.k.a Number Four."

And that's how it all began.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two: Starting.**

* * *

Teiko Academy is a prestigious school ranging from elementary to high school level, which is located in Tokyo.

...Not exactly in Tokyo, actually. Well, the school complex is built on a small island twenty minutes by boat from Tokyo Harbor, the Teikojima Island.

Ah, yes. Teiko Academy is located on an island.

The island, which is already enormous enough to contain three school buildings, from elementary to high school level, also consisted of dorm buildings. There are two dormitories; girl's dorm, and boy's dorm.

Students of Teiko Academy are given choices to stay in the dorm, or go back and forth from school to their houses—which they need to ride boats everyday. But if they choose to live in a dorm, they will be given _each_ a room with a size of deluxe hotel room with a King-sized bed. Hence why the dormitory is large enough for thousands of people.

Hence why Kuroko Tetsuka was currently gaping at her new room.

"So, this will be your room for the next two years." Momoi explained as she showed her the huge room.

Tetsuka was not surprised by the size. Well, her room in Kuroko household was actually much bigger than this. But for a mere school to accommodate a room like this for EACH student, this is too much.

For the second time, this school surprised her. First was yesterday when she realized that Akashi had brought her to Tokyo Harbor, and that they actually had to ride a boat to go to the said school building. Second were the dorms.

But with that, Tetsuka confirmed that Teiko is not a mere academy (even though she should have known when Akashi mentioned that this school trains many students to perfection under the name of Almighty).

"There's a lounge and a cafe at the lobby, they're open for twenty-four hours. And don't worry the school will pay for everything at the cafe."

_Is there anything that the school won't pay for the students?_

Tetsuka almost shivered at the thought of how much the fee was, despite her social status as a Kuroko. She hoped her father wouldn't really mind her transferring here.

Oh, speaking about her father. Tetsuka had met her father right after the introduction with her new teammates. The meeting was nothing special. Toshiyuki said things like taking care of herself, or him hoping her to enjoy her school life here, and a few words of apology, which were also mentioned by Tetsuka herself, since she did feel a bit guilty for rejecting (living with) him like that.

But she really couldn't see her father just like those years ago.

Well, things had changed, indeed.

"Kuroko-san, I'll be leaving then. If you want to see us come visit at the warehouse, okay? We'll be glad to see you. Besides, you haven't talked with Akashi-kun about your training, right?" Momoi said. For some reason the team called their basecamp warehouse, much to Tetsuka's mild confusion. "Oh, and I'll be here at seven thirty AM tomorrow to pick you up to the class!"

"Thank you very much, Momoi-san." Tetsuka bowed politely, making the other girl begged her to be less polite to someone of the same age. But the teal-haired girl couldn't help it, she'd been like that ever since she was nothing but a child. All those teachings about manners and proper formal stuffs she got from her old kindergarten (what school teaches formal stuffs to five year olds?) and elementary school had already stuck in her mind.

After Momoi left, Tetsuka unpacked her belongings, which her father gave to her when he visited earlier. The clothes she had brought with her from her old rent wouldn't be enough, of course. Arranging the clothes in the wardrobe, Tetsuka noticed the uniform Momoi had given to her.

Teiko's uniform consists of blue shirt—that ironically had similar color with her hair—a dark skirt, and white blazer. She hanged the uniform outside of the wardrobe, so that she wouldn't forget anything for tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow she will start anew.

She hoped her classmates would accept her.

And talking about acceptance, Tetsuka suddenly remembered her first meeting earlier with the members of Almighty; Midorima-kun, and Kise-kun.

Both of them didn't speak much, just telling their names, with Midorima refused to tell her his number in the team, meanwhile Kise was practically shouting his number, which is number eight. Even though Midorima showed some frank hostility, Kise was actually pretty welcoming. But all Tetsuka had to do to find the truth was stare at their eyes. And of course, their eyes couldn't lie; it was very clear.

They hadn't accepted her as a part of the team.

Despite that meant she hadn't found a place in the team, that didn't surprise Tetsuka at all. In fact, she'd be surprised if they accepted her right away. The blue-haired female herself was still confused with Akashi Seijuro's judgment. How come he viewed her as someone with potential? All she could do is run, and hide.

But he did promise to train her, to help her develop her possibly one in a million talent. Tetsuka almost sweat-dropped at the description of her ability, but she just agreed nonetheless.

Because then again, she did owe him something. Akashi had helped her in defending her freedom, and she was grateful for that.

At least now she didn't need to transfer to Seirin without her father's consent.

Oh, wait. Seirin.

The bluehead immediately fished her phone out of her pocket, and called a number. The phone rang a few times, resounding annoying beeps into her ear, before a feminine voice greeted her.

"Kuroko-chan, what's up?" Aida Riko spoke cheerfully. Tetsuka could hear many chattering of people, so she guessed that the older female was in public place, since school should be over by now.

"Aida-san," she began. "I have transferred to Teiko." Tetsuka said straight to the point, creating a silence that lasted for about five seconds before Riko's yell and demands of explanation invaded her ears.

"Explain. NOW." Aida Riko demanded, her voice became dark and managed to make Tetsuka stutter before she began her explanation. She told her everything, from Akashi (dubbed as Number Four in her story—she didn't remember Akashi allowing her to spill the beans) following her and introducing himself, and finally managed to bring her back due to her father's orders. But she left the part where she was recruited into Almighty Company. She couldn't tell her. Not yet, anyway. And she couldn't tell her that Almighty Company was based in Teiko Academy.

"So… This number four gave you a solution because he knew that your father actually had considered to transfer you to Teiko, them being prestigious and all. And since that's the best option available at the moment, you have no choice but to take it." She concluded, Tetsuka confirmed her lie and the former sighed.

"Really, Kuroko-chan, you gave me quite a shock!" Riko scolded her, worry hinted in her voice. Tetsuka smiled a little at the worry-wrat as she realized Riko had been a sister-like figure to her, with all her worries and all. "Sorry, Aida-san."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't forget about me while in Teiko, okay? It wouldn't hurt to drop a visit to Seirin, I'll introduce you to the basketball club." Oh, yes. Aida Riko is a basketball coach at Seirin. It's amazing how she's been coaching them since her first year of high school. Despite having interest in basketball when she was a kid, Tetsuka lacked updates about high school basketball club, but from Riko's stories it seems like Seirin is strong. The younger girl quite anticipated their meeting soon.

"I would like to meet them."

Riko scoffed, before an announcement was heard. The older girl gasped a little. "Kuroko-chan, my train has arrived. Catch you later! Just call me if you need something, okay? Bye!" The phone ended with a beep, leaving Tetsuka smiled slightly to herself. It was nice having a friend like Riko, she realized.

The tealhead put her phone on the nightstand before plopping herself to the king-sized bed. Her feet kicked something as she did it, and she realized that she had about two bags to unpack; one large (like those bags people use to travel for more than a week), and one medium sized travelling bag.

Kuroko Tetsuka almost groaned at them.

* * *

The next day…

"Class, today we have a new student. Please introduce yourself."

The teacher glanced to his left, only to find the supposed new student absent. Scratching his head, he continued to search.

"_Are_? Where is she? She's right behind me earlier..."

"I'm here, Sir." A voice said flatly, making the middle aged man tried to find the source. Students who were present in the class also looked around confusedly, until a small girl with light blue hair suddenly appeared beside their homeroom teacher.

Almost all students—even Kise who's currently watching the whole scene before him—gasped at her sudden appearance.

"Whoa where did she come from?!"

"She just appeared out of the thin air!"

"I didn't see her enter the class!"

Kise sweatdropped, mouth gaping as he stared at his new teammate. She really is invisible. Yesterday at their first meeting, she was actually pretty visible to the eye, but Momoi informed him, "Akashi-kun said she is almost invisible."

That only made him frown at the pinkhead.

But he didn't expect that she would _literary_ invisible.

"W-Where did you come from?" The teacher asked, still surprised and now trying to calm down.

"I've been right here from the start." Kuroko answered with what Kise comprehend as a sigh, like she had answered that kind of question thousand times before this.

The blonde furrowed his eyebrows. How come she had been there but no one noticed her? Kise questioned in his head. He watched as Kuroko introduced herself, and the teacher told him to sit on one of the chairs in the back of the class.

It turned out Kuroko sat behind him, since his seat was in the second row from the back of the class. He turned to her as she pulled out a textbook for the next class.

Her sky blue eyes met with his hazel ones as she nodded to him, greeting him wordlessly. He blinked, before grinning awkwardly. He thought to himself,

_What a weirdo._

And with that Kise Ryota decided to pay attention to the class.

* * *

Tetsuka strode along the hallways with her stomach begging for food. The cafeteria was located on the same floor of her class, which was on second floor, so it shouldn't be far.

Earlier in the class, her homeroom teacher asked whether she needed a guide to help her adapt in the new environment. The blue-haired girl politely declined the offer, saying that she wouldn't need it.

It wasn't a lie, though. Due to running away from her house more than few times before, it made her a fast-adapting person. Finding ways through a new place wouldn't be a slightest problem for her. That's why she had rejected the offer.

When she finally reached the cafeteria—God bless her instincts, it's still working despite her hunger—Tetsuka immediately bought a sandwich and milk. Feeling satisfied, she went back to her class while drinking the milk she just bought.

A few meters from her class, in front of another class of second years, a familiar redhead caught her eye. Akashi didn't seem like realizing her presence though.

"Akashi-kun," she greeted. To her mild surprise, the redhead turned right away, almost seemed like he'd been expecting her to greet him like now.

"Ah, Tetsuka." The owner of heterochromatic eyes replied. He eyed the sandwich and the milk in her hand. "Having lunch?"

"Yes. I'm going to eat them in class."

"I see."

"Excuse me then." With that the female excused herself. But before she could distance himself from him any further, a calm, demanding voice called her.

"Tetsuka." She turned to him, eyes staring at him expressionlessly.

"Yes, Akashi-kun?"

"Meet me at the first gym after school, and bring your PE uniform." He said sternly. "I'm going to test your current abilities."

Tetsuka blinked.

"Eh?"

* * *

Right after the bell rang, Tetsuka immediately dashed out of her class to her dorm. She needed to get her PE clothes since she didn't bring it to school today. She had to wonder what kind of test Akashi will be giving to her. From the word 'gym' and 'PE uniform' she quickly guessed that it'll be physical test.

She was certain the redhead wanted to test her speed, agility and stuffs like that.

Putting her PE clothes and a bottle of water inside her bag, she pursed her lips in distaste at the thought of running and sprinting, or maybe even sit-ups. Ugh. She loathed those stuffs. She had never been one to have interest in sports after all. Maybe basketball, while she was lot younger. But the petite girl never had any time to pursue her interest, since her childhood was never been the fun and exciting one.

Tetsuka finished her preparation, and went out of her room only to meet a certain well-endowed female with cherry-blossom coloured hair.

"Kuroko-chan! I was about to ask you if you want to come along with me to the warehouse," The rosette said cheerfully.

"Momoi-san," she greeted. "Actually, I'm going to the first gym, right now. Do you know where is it?"

The pinkhead tilted her head. "First gym? I know… But what are you doing there?"

"Akashi-kun is going to test me."

"Really?!" The manager of Almighty suddenly shrilled, eyes wide with interest. "Then I'll bring you there! But can I watch?"

Tetsuka nodded after a short moment of contemplating. Akashi wouldn't mind a company, would he? Well, she hoped not. "Sure." She said. "Let's go then."

Momoi perked up and grabbed the pale girl's hand, "Let's go to the first gym!"

The air left Tetsuka's lungs as the pinkhead dragged her along while she ran excitedly, not paying attention to the wide-eyed blue-haired girl. When she finally slowed down, the bubbly girl apologized to her while giggling and Tetsuka accepted it wholeheartedly.

Then, Momoi admitted she was more than curious towards her new acquaintance.

"You know, it's been a while since Akashi-kun recruited someone. That's why as a manager I really want to know your abilities!"

"I see…" Tetsuka all but murmured.

Both girls chatted about random things before they went inside the empty gym, with the door was unlocked already. The quiet girl looked around the large and empty room, eyes searching for the boy whose hair was bright crimson. Momoi poked her, smiling knowingly.

"Don't worry," the manager said with her hands intertwined behind her back. "He's always like that. Always arrives later than the others."

"You mean he's always late?" Tetsuka deadpanned.

"No, no. It's more like… He always appears after all of us arrive first. Sometimes we thought that maybe Akashi-kun actually arrives first than everyone, but hides somewhere then pops out after we're finally present." Momoi said playfully, making the shorter girl tilt her head, processing the weird information she just got—

"So that's what you all think of me."

Talk of the Devil, and he shall appear.

Momoi paled. Both of them turned only to face Akashi and his seemly signature pose of crossing his hands almost arrogantly. The bubbly female went quiet before averting her gaze a bit nervously. She breathed a humorless laugh.

"Ehe… Hi there, Akashi-kun." She waved timidly.

"Satsuki, what are you doing here?" He demanded as he closed the gym entrance, voice demanding and almost cold.

"Kuroko-chan told me that you're going to test her today, so I come to watch," she explained meekly, head bowing down and fingers fiddling. Tetsuka interrupted her.

"Momoi-san is curious about my abilities, so she would like to observe. Do you mind, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi scanned the cerulean eyes of his new teammate as he discovered that her question meant no offense at all. She was merely asking for his permission.

"Of course I don't mind." He said, his dual coloured eyes hardened less. "Tetsuka, change your uniforms in the locker room. Satsuki, accompany her. We will start as soon as you finish preparing yourself."

Both girls shouted, "Yes!" With Tetsuka doing it with less volume. The situation reminded her of a club activity, Akashi being the leader—wait, the Almighty Team itself shared similarities of a club already. It has a leader, a manager, and of course more than five members (Tetsuka was informed that the Generation of Miracles was only one tenth of the whole members of Almighty, so at least the club has fifty members).

Momoi helped her folding her school uniform and putting them in one of the empty lockers. Tetsuka put on her PE shirt and the short pants that reached a little bit above her knee. After finished, they both went back to the gym, finding Akashi holding a clipping board, a whistle, and a stopwatch. He told Momoi to assist him in collecting data of their new member.

The cerulean female was tying her long hair when Akashi approached her without a warning.

"First, I'm going to test your speed."—Tetsuka sighed inwardly at her correct guess—"You see that line over there?" His slender finger pointed at the black line made by a duct tape. "That's the starting line. And another one over there?" he pointed to another, approximately thirty-five metres away from the first one. "You're going to sprint as fast as you can to that finish line. I suppose you know the basics of sprint and the starting positions?"

Tetsuka nodded, her eyes focusing on the running track before it went back to Akashi's face again.

"Now get in the position." The superior teen demanded as the inferior one quickly skipped to the start line. Tetsuka stood behind the line, her right feet two steps away from the black marking. She found Momoi's eyes and then nodded at her, which the pinkhead replied with an understanding smile.

"On your mark," the feminine voice instructed. Almost immediately, Tetsuka's knees folded as the right one met the wooden floor. Her hands stretched at the ground as she had her blue eyes tightly on the black line.

"Get set," she changed her position, eyes now focused straight to the front.

Momoi held the stopwatch in her right hand.

Tetsuka almost turned her head at the unusual time gap when she finally heard the "GO!" she had been waiting for. Despite losing her focus for one millisecond, she started sprinting anyway—

"Stop."

—Only to be stopped by none other than Akashi Seijuro.

"You lost your focus. It will affect the results. Start over."

Momoi made a face.

Tetsuka stared at the redhead, annoyance almost visible in her eyes.

* * *

"You were really good at the zig-zag running, Kuroko-chan!"

The two females walk with each other, with Tetsuka panting a little after finishing her tests. In the end, she only did two tests; speed test and the agility test. For the latter, she had to run zig-zag among the cones that Akashi had arranged for her.

Finally, the crimson haired male announced the results to her. He didn't look amused or disappointed, it was like he had already guessed the results.

"_Your speed is almost below the average, but you excelled quite well in agility. Next time, you will run for laps in this gym. I would like to see how well you could endure them." He explained with a challenging tone hinting in his voice. Tetsuka's eyebrows rose slightly, and the corners of her lips stretched into a small smile._

"_I will do my best."_

_She loved challenge after all._

_Akashi smirked._

"_Very well." He said. "You're now dismissed. And, Tetsuka," he called. "If you need to take the shower, I suggest you to use the bathroom at the warehouse or at your own dorm, since I need to lock the gym immediately."_

_Tetsuka nodded. "Thank you, Akashi-kun."_

"Kuroko-chan, why don't you take a bath at the warehouse? I know the dorm is close, but let's spend some time together! You know, girls talk? Oh and why don't stay at the warehouse for the night?! You can sleep in my room!" Momoi blabbered as she watched Tetsuka put her uniforms inside her bag.

"…But, I don't bring any soaps or shampoos, or even a towel." The quiet girl replied, ignoring the sleepover invitation, focusing only on the bath, since she already felt sticky from the sweat.

"You can just borrow mine! Don't worry" The rosette grinned at her, which Tetsuka replied with a small smile. "So how about it?"

"That would be nice, thank you Momoi-san."

"Don't mention it"

When they arrived at the warehouse, via backdoor, they found Kise Ryota slouching on the sofa, dozing off in a slumber. Tetsuka blinked, as Momoi sighed.

"Really, that Ki-chan. It's almost seven PM and he's still sleeping here?" Momoi murmured, walking towards the sofa Kise slept on, and shook the blonde boy.

"Ki-chaan, wake up!"

The taller male groaned, before huddling himself further in the couch.

"Momocchi… You're so lousy…"

Said female pouted and she went back to shake Kise, more vigorously now.

Tetsuka sweat dropped at the corner, watching the scene before her.

"Momoi-san…"

"Ah, Kuroko-chan, just go ahead to my room. My room is the one that's not locked, and it's near the corner. The towels are inside the cabinet under the sink. I'm sorry I can't accompany you I need to wake him up!" Momoi shouted, hands still shaking the blonde as the latter now tried to cover his head with one of the pillows on the sofa.

"Thank you Momoi-san." And with that Tetsuka left the living room, searching for the room. She realized the warehouse actually had quite lot of rooms. There are four rooms on the left, and three on the right. And now she had occupied one room, which meant the rooms are all now occupied.

The tealhead tried to open the door on the right corner, and found out that it was locked. That meant that it must be the one on the left. She twisted the handle, and true, the door opened and inside was pitch black. She fumbled to find the switch, before clicked it and greeted the sudden bright light.

After giving a slight glance to the altogether neat room, she went in the bathroom and observed her surroundings slightly. A light-blue eyebrow rose, as she stared carefully at the bathroom. But then she decided to put her stuffs on the rack near the sink.

She looked inside the shelf under the sink, indeed finding some towels there. Taking one, she hung it on one of the hooks before undressing herself. Her hand stopped when she took in a sight of something unusual on the sink. Tetsuka tilted her head, blinking her eyes in confusion. But then she just ignored it and proceeded to the shower.

After a good fifteen minutes, she slid the shower door open, stepping out with water dripping form her hair and body. She took the towel near the sink. As she dried herself she accidentally knocked her clothes and made them drop to a puddle of water that had pooled under her feet.

A one, big puddle of water.

Tetsuka's eyes narrowed, not amused at all.

How come she could knock both her PE clothes and her school uniform as well? She cursed her stupidity. After a moment of thinking, she thought of wearing it, but even though it was summer and cold is nice for heat like this, it's already seven PM and wearing wet clothes are not healthy at all.

Maybe she could just borrow one of Momoi's. She would tell her later. The pink-haired maiden wouldn't mind.

As Tetsuka was equipping her underwear which was lucky enough to not get wet, she heard the door creaking open outside.

It must be Momoi-san, she thought.

When she finished putting on her undies, Tetsuka covered her body with the towel before she opened the door, giving it a small gap for her to peek outside.

She found no Momoi insight.

"Momoi-san,"

Ah, of course she wouldn't hear her. The blue haired girl realized her lack of presence could be troublesome at times like this. Then again, it wasn't like she could control it.

Deciding that just calling Momoi's name would be fruitless, Tetsuka opened the door wider and peeked her body outside, her feet about to take a step out of the bathroom.

She raised her voice a little, "Momoi-san—"

But stood in front of her was not Momoi Satsuki.

Tetsuka's emotions submerged unconsciously, suddenly her presence became very clear, and she just stood there frozen like a deer in the headlights.

And, instead of meeting strawberry colored eyes, her aquamarine irises clashed with unfamiliar sapphire ones.

The tall, navy haired boy who was apparently in the middle of undressing himself with his hands lifting his black shirt (revealing his toned stomach—not that it mattered to Tetsuka) was definitely not Momoi Satsuki.

But as she saw him, Tetsuka instantly found the answers she was looking for. Why was the bathroom so unorganized, why would Momoi-san had a razor and shaving cream, why were there clothes (which were not feminine enough to be Momoi's) thrown everywhere, and of course, why would a girl had a photobook of the big-breasted Horikita Mai, which sat on top of the toilet. How come she didn't realize it earlier!

Tetsuka's lips parted open as the tanned male in front of her had his eyes wide like it was going to poke out of its sockets.

And the scene froze just like that for about five seconds.

...

Then the male screamed.

"Y-You! Who are you and why are you—" he stammered as his cheeks turned red, hands now trying to hold back the incoming blood from his nose by covering it with his t-shirt.

Thin expressions of embarrassment colored Tetsuka's face as she murmured, monotonous at the best that she could, "I'm sorry." Before she slammed the door behind her.

As the barely clothed female tried to process what-in-hell-is-happening, she heard rushing footsteps and the door opened, then a familiar screeching voice.

"Dai-chan what's wrong!" Momoi gasped as she saw her childhood friend, his hands covered in blotch of reds from the fresh blood that was flowing from his nose.

"T-That girl, who is she, why—"

"...That girl?"

The door clicked open.

...From the small gap, Tetsuka peeked, revealing her presence inside the bathroom.

Momoi's eyes widened.

"Kuroko-chan! Why are you here I thought you are in my bathroom-" She stared at Kuroko's lack of wardrobe. "Clothes! Clothes! You need clothes where's your clothes?!"

"...I'm sorry, they got soaked. Can I borrow your clothes, Momoi-san?" The pinkhead jolted at the question.

"Yes of course you can! Give me a second!" Momoi dashed out of the door, only to come back once again. "And close the bathroom door! Don't let Hentai-mine look at you like that!"

The still-struggling-with-nosebleed tanned boy sneered at Momoi, offended by her words. "Oi Satsuki! You bastard!"

Tetsuka who had closed the door and rested her back on the door sighed. What kind of situation she had gotten herself into…

Her ears caught sounds of doors creaking open and not long after someone knocked on the door behind her. Feeling certain that it was Momoi, the tealhead opened it, and Momoi got in the room immediately.

"Kuroko-chan, what happened? Why are you here, instead of my room?" The taller female asked worriedly. Meekly, Tetsuka tried to explain the situation in her point of view. Momoi listened as she suddenly gasped.

"Oh my god… I forgot to tell you that my room is _second _from the corner! And just in luck I forgot to luck Dai-chan's room after I cleaned it up yesterday… ("Oh that's how a boy's room is that neat.")" The pinkhead frowned as her eyes started to water a bit. "Kuroko-chan, I'm sorry…"

Tetsuka, already finished putting on her borrowed wardrobe that consisted of t-shirt and a pair of shorts, went to the slightly taller girl to pat her on her head.

"No, no, it's okay Momoi-san. I'm at fault too, to be careless of my surroundings… I should've known that this is not your room."

Momoi stared at the petite girl, eyes watering, before she engulfed Tetsuka in a deadly hug. "I'M SO SORRY—" She bawled. Tetsuka patted Momoi's hair awkwardly, murmuring "There, there…" to the girl in her arms.

"I almost made you lost your innocence to that pervert—" she hiccupped and an angry shout was heard from outside. "OI! The hell did you mean by that!?"

"Shut up Hentai-mine!"

Tetsuka listened to their argues quietly. And after a few moments, Momoi finally calmed down. "Kuroko-chan, I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to… Please don't be mad at me,"

The cerulean eyed female smiled softly at her. "Don't worry Momoi-san, I'm not mad at you. And I've forgiven you too—"

"TETSU-CHAN~ THANK YOU!" Once again Momoi caught her in a deadly embrace, and Tetsuka could only pat her back. "You're welcome, Momoi-san." She struggled.

The bathroom door opened, and the navy-haired male who were seating on his bed stood up and went up to the two girls. He scratched the back of his head, a scowl sat on his face, along with the still-lingering blush. But it seemed like his nosebleed had stopped. The taller teen was shocked though. He just got back from his hell of a mission, and suddenly, just when he wanted a good night sleep on his comfy bed, a certain girl had to appear from his bathroom with nothing but a towel. But he was sure that girl meant no harm either.

"Uh… Sorry, for that." He mumbled as he stared at his feet that suddenly became interesting. Momoi, who's clinging to Tetsuka's shoulder, pouted at her childhood friend.

"I apologize too, for invading your room without your permission. And for using the bathroom, too." Tetsuka bowed deeply. The tanned boy mumbled again, incoherently asking her to stop bowing down.

Suddenly, Momoi stood between the two of them. She cleared her throat.

"Now, that the problem is finished ("This is all your fault, dammit."), why don't you two introduce yourselves, you know, starting over?" The pinkhead suggested with a revived grin on her face.

"Alright then. My name is Kuroko Tetsuka, the new member of Almighty." Tetsuka bowed once again.

"Aomine Daiki," he grunted, still embarrassed to look the petite girl in the eyes. "Look, I'm really sorry 'bout what happened earlier…"

"Apology accepted. Nice to meet you… Hentai-mine-san."

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU'D FORGIVE ME!"

And that's how Tetsuka met Aomine Daiki, the pervert.

...

Meanwhile Kise…

"Uh… So noisy…" He rubbed his eyes sleepily as he stood up. The blonde dragged himself towards his room, not even curious of the chaos in Aominecchi's room.

"Whatever… I'll just go to sleep."

And he plopped on his bed, eyes automatically closing as he drifted off to his dreamland.

* * *

_**Here you go, people; the second chapter.**_

_**OH AND, OH MY GOSH YOU PEOPLE, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.**_

_**THANK YOU SO MUCH for the favorites, reviews and the alerts! Thank you for the support!**_

_**in reply to pugslover: Soon, dear, soon she will defy the almighty Akashi Seijuro. *evil laughs***_

**[EDIT 01/05]: Changed the Author's notes, chapter title, and added some stuff to the last part.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three: Hazelnut.**

* * *

_**Ring ring**_

_A groan._

_**Click**_

_"Yees? Who is it?"_

_"Ryota, it's me."_

_"Oh, Akashicchi..."-a yawn-"What is it?"_

_"Did something happen at the warehouse?"_

_"Sort of... I think Kuroko mistook Aominecchi's room to be Momoicchi's and... I heard Momoicchi's screaming 'pervert' at Aominecchi who just got home earlier... Something like that, I guess-"_

_**Beep beep**_

_"He hung up..."_

_And once again, Kise Ryota went back to his dreamland._

* * *

"Stop calling me a pervert, please."

"I'm sorry but no can do, Hentaimine-san. Besides, I'm merely stating the fact." Tetsuka responded flatly, making Momoi cackle at the defeated Aomine.

Putting the last of her stuffs, Tetsuka zipped her bag, ready to go. After the unexpected incident, she couldn't expect herself to stay the night at the warehouse. So she decided to retreat to her dorm room for the night.

"By the way, Dai-chan, how's your mission?" Momoi asked. Her childhood friend turned his head at her, eyes widening as if just remembered something.

"My mission..."

"Yes, that's right. You guarded the client for a whole week. The report-"

"I should be sleeping right now because I'm so tired from my mission." He suddenly whispered to himself, audible enough to capture Tetsuka's attention. "I haven't finished the damn report, help me do it tomorrow will ya, Satsuki? G'night." He stepped away from the living room, long legs striding through the wooden floored hallway.

Momoi pouted, her cheeks puffing out with annoyance. "Dai-chan, if you continue being lazy like this, anyone could take your position in this elite team, you know?"

Aomine stopped abruptly. He glanced cockily at his pinkhead of a friend. "What are you saying?" He scoffed. "I told you, right? The only one who can beat me, is me."

And with that he disappeared inside his room.

Tetsuka blinked.

Did he just say the only one who's capable of beating him is he himself?

"Is that his motto?" Tetsuka murmured curiously, and she saw Momoi sigh, her hands on the side of her hips.

"Something like that. Seriously though that Dai-chan... He is too conceited for his own good!" The pinkhead slumped herself onto the sofa, hands now crossing and a pout visible on her lips. "I mean, fine, he is really good at missions. Sure, he could be named as the best among those elites-not counting Akashi-kun though, I don't really know what he's capable of-but he's too cocky!"

Hearing the still never-ending rambles just like a good listener she is, Tetsuka just nodded at each expression Momoi spat. And by listening to her, Tetsuka could get a firmer grasp of Aomine's personality. And so far, Tetsuka couldn't say she liked this tanned boy.

"-Anyway, tomorrow I won't help him with his report! I don't care if Shirogane-sensei scolds him or even demotes him. If Sensei really did that I'd laugh at Dai-chan's face, I swear!"

Tetsuka sweat-dropped. For some reason, Tetsuka wouldn't believe her words. And she got the feeling that tomorrow in their class she will see Momoi, despite shouting and scolding her friend, helping Aomine with his _damned_ reports.

She sighed patiently as the pink haired female now rambled about how the hell Aomine could act sickly sweet and perfect in his missions, different from his everyday attitude.

* * *

Not long after Tetsuka left, the door jingled as it opened, and a certain male went inside, attracting Momoi's attention.

"Akashi-kun—"

"Where's Tetsuka?" His dark gaze almost made Momoi shiver. She immediately knew what it is all about. She knew sooner or later Akashi would hear of this unpleasant encounter of one of his best members and the newest addition of the team. But not _this_ soon. She gulped.

"She just left." Momoi answered shakily. "What's wrong Akashi-kun?"

He sighed. "Well, I heard something _very_ unpleasant from Ryota..."

_Ki-chan! I thought he's sleeping! _She cursed inwardly. As she saw Akashi's hetero-chromic eyes looked down on her, she swore she could see the murderous intent in them. "I-I-I can explain!" She yelped in vain—And were those _snips_ of scissors she just heard? _Oh my gosh Ki-chan Ihateyou— _

A few moments later, a struggling Aomine was being dragged from his beauty sleep by a scissors-wielding male with a dark expression on his face.

Not long after, screams could be heard from Almighty Elite Team's secret base.

* * *

_Clack_

Gold General captured the Bishop.

He took said Bishop to his left side as different colored eyes still gazing at the board, now thinking of the next move. He scrutinized heavily as he realized moving the King would be too risky. Moving the Knight would only make his Gold General more vulnerable. And no, other moves wouldn't be the best choice.

And that's when he noticed his _new_ and _fresh_ Silver General.

He almost smirked at the thought of the new addition in the team. Sure she didn't receive a warm smile as Satsuki introduced her to the elite team. And for some reason, he wouldn't be surprised if Daiki and Atsushi actually disliked her, just like how Ryota and Shintaro did. The green-haired teen literary narrowed his eyes distastefully when he requested him to deliver a message for her to meet the redhead in the shogi clubroom.

But he'd already expected this, really.

His slender fingers clamped the wooden piece. Of course those pieces of wood wouldn't move on their own, he-no, someone had to do it for them. They couldn't even make a decision by themselves.

Raising the Silver General to his eye-level, he focused on it in an almost wistful way.

When, he thought, will she make a move on her own?

Deep down he knew it would come. One day, it certainly would. He just had to wait a little bit more patiently. And of course he needed to prepare her to her full potential. That girl's current condition and abilities were still too far away from his liking (he almost scoffed as he recalled yesterday's incident). But with a little push, without a doubt, she could even pass his expectation.

He put the piece down on a square one diagonal step away from the first one, his other hand now taking the Rook that had become his Silver General's first victim-

_Knock knock_

He smirked as the door opened.

_Oute._

"Akashi-kun?" Her soft voice called, closing the door behind her. "I heard from Midorima-kun that you summoned me."

He didn't even bother to turn his head to his guest. Although he knew now the girl was standing beside him. "Indeed I did."

Akashi took the shogi pieces and put them in the right place as Tetsuka stared at the traditional board game blankly.

"So, Tetsuka, I heard that you've met Daiki?" She shifted her gaze to Akashi when she heard him speak. He's still not looking at her, though.

"Daiki? Oh, you mean Aomine-san?"

The redhead nodded, then picked up one of the wooden pieces before staring at it almost disinterestedly.

"And it said that your first meeting with him was not really pleasant?"

Tetsuka involuntarily shifted her glance, unpretty memories of what happened back then in a certain navy-haired boy's room. So he had heard of it. "...Yes."

She could hear him sigh. "I would like to apologize, as the leader of Almighty Senior Division, for my members' inappropriate behaviour. I've disciplined both of them; Daiki and Satsuki."

"No, it's okay and it's actually my fault too—" She stopped abruptly as Akashi slammed a piece on the board, making a more than audible clack in her ears.

"Correct. It is also your fault. That's the other reason why are you here, Tetsuka."

"...Eh?"

"Your training is doubled. Next time, don't let your guard down and mistook rooms like that. You should have realized that you were in the wrong room the moment you entered Daiki's room."

Tetsuka inwardly sighed, but accepted her punishment nonetheless. "...I apologize, Akashi-kun. I won't let my guard down next time."

"Good."

"May I, uh, leave?" Akashi finally turned his head and stared at her in the eyes, the hint of michief in his crimson pairs made her flinch.

"Well, I don't mind if you want to accompany me, Tetsuka." He went back to his shogi board again.

"...I'll be here until lunch break ends, then."

Silence passed for more than a few seconds. The only sound accompanying them was the slams of shogi pieces against the board as Akashi were still putting them in the correct, default order. As he finished, he asked her,

"Have you ever played shogi before?"

Tetsuka shook her head slowly, her turquoise strands of hair danced along with the momentum. After getting a part of her face covered by her fringe, she tucked her hair behind her ear. She realized Akashi's twins of red were following the movements of her finger. She stared at him as he looked back at her. He suddenly smiled a little, lips twitching barely, but not unnoticed.

"Would you like to try? I can teach you." He gestured to the empty chair across the desk.

Wordlessly, Tetsuka sat down on the empty chair and her eyes immediately fixed on the board in front of her and in between her and Akashi. She took one of the pieces and tried to understand their positions and roles.

"That's the Knight." He pointed out. "It could move one step to the left or right, or two steps forward."

Tetsuka put the piece down as she processed the explanation from Akashi. She eyed another piece and raised it in front of Akashi. "What about this one?"

In the end, he explained all the pieces' features to her amusedly. The girl looked nothing like interested in the game he'd often invested himself in, but he supposed watching the monotonous girl curiously asking was quite entertaining.

After learning the basics and such, he finally challenged her to play with him. She stared him at the mention of his request. Then she replied, quite frankly, Akashi might add, "Why should I? It's obvious that Akashi-kun will win."

He almost heard sarcasm from her words despite the monotone. Not only sassing him with sarcasm, but she also just declined him in a bit of impolite way. Instead of lashing out about her impoliteness, Akashi decided to convince her, "It's just a friendly spar, Tetsuka." He said patiently.

"You could just challenge Midorima-kun, I'm sure he's good at this."

"I played him a few times already. It's about time I find a new sparring partner."

"Why not asking the shogi club members?"

How stubborn, he thought. He put his head on his entertwined fingers, leaning forward slightly. "I want to play with you, Tetsuka. Not them, not Shintaro." He said sternly, eyes darkening as a small spark of exasperation ignited inside of them. The bluenette stayed silent, face keeping her signature flat expression.

Akashi didn't even wait for her response as he did his first move, moving the pawn forward. Her response perked him up as irritation appeared on her usually passive face. He only smirked at her, "Your turn."

"I never said I agreed to this, Akashi-kun."

"Well, I'm not giving you any option from the start," he told her almost arrogantly, gesturing her once again to make an opposing move in the game. She frowned again before dragging one piece of pawn to move, finally complying.

They played for no longer than five minutes before Akashi knew that he was so close to winning. But it's not like he didn't know that he's going to win. He always wins. His eyes caught his opponent in front of him. Tetsuka seemed to understand her situation as she just stared at the board, hands scratching her long light blue tresses. But not aimlessly, she moved her Knight—one of the surviving ones from Akashi's endless devours, trying to find her way out from the loss. Akashi scanned her move when she raised her head, eyes now staring at his.

"Akashi-kun is really good at this," she began. He was about to thank her but she cut him, "But you're really exasperating."

He felt his eyes twitch.

Never in a day had someone made his emotion fluctuate like this. One moment she praised him, the next moment she tested his patience. Trying to hide his puzzlement and the increasing anger, he asked, "And why would you say that?"

A light-blue colored eyebrow rose, as if saying 'isn't it obvious'. "You forced me to a match in which you're obviously going to win." Tetsuka explained, eyes still boring into his crimson ones when she did so. He stared as she pouted. Funny how someone so indifferent in expressions as her was actually very blunt and straight-to-the-point.

But still, as funny as it was, it couldn't make his anger any less. He had to discipline her. He needed to.

"Thank you for being honest, Tetsuka. But," the redhead leaned forward dangerously, face only inches away from hers. "It'd be appreciated if you chose your words wisely."

A flash of both fear and shock sparked in her turquoise eyes. She leaned back due to the proximity between them, and she watched as he moved his Silver General, smirking in triumph.

"Oute."

* * *

Tetsuka was pissed off.

It was half past four in the morning when the aching pain in her whole body woke her up quite forcibly, making her cringe as now she tried to massage her legs.

Yesterday after school, a certain short (she knew she's in no position to say that, but whatever) redhead actually made her do her training twice as usual. Not to mention the new trainings; like scouts, push-ups, and running for laps.

Tetsuka really thought she was about to die.

So instead of visiting the warehouse like the day before yesterday, she decided to go straight back to her dorm, took a bath, and then went to hit the pillows without drying her hair first.

And now here she was. Waking up with a headache and aching body. And whose fault was that? Oh yes. Akashi freaking Seijuro.

Ignoring her complaining muscles and cells, she took another shower, and went to the cafeteria. It was early, but never too early for a snack. She thought maybe satisfying her sweet tooth would boost her mood. When she arrived, the eatery was empty, which didn't surprise her. It's five in the morning, who'd be there?

Eyeing the food on the counter, Tetsuka saw the snack counter being restocked. Her eyes caught a sight of something similar, and was surprised when she realized what she'd found.

Expensive hazelnut wafers she used to eat as a child.

Tetsuka never thought of finding them here of all places. When was the last time she had them? Two? Three years ago? Her dad, Toshiyuki had stopped buying snacks for her when he considered her daughter 'too old for chocolates' (which later resulted to Tetsuka running away again).

Buying all of them, she took one from the plastic bag and ate them. Oh the crunchiness of the chocolate flavored wafers, and the melting hazelnut inside... Tetsuka smiled, satisfied as she dived her hand back in the plastic bag, taking another one.

It brought back memories, she thought with a soft smile. The bluenette remembered a certain boy who adored the snack as much as she did. How his mouth watered at the sight of her mostly expensive treats. How he'd help her in her escape only if she shared her wafers. How he'd share the last hazelnut wafer with her half-heartedly, dividing them not in half, but more like two thirds for him and the remaining for her. Not that Tetsuka minded.

But too bad she'd lost his contact. She'd like to talk to him again, about which school he attended, about his life, and she wanted to tell him about her freedom of Kuroko household.

And she wondered if he still liked these wafers as much as she did.

A few hours later, a very tall boy with violet tresses frowned when he found out about the sold-off hazelnut wafers.

* * *

"Satsuki did you see my TV dinner?"

"It's in the oven," The pinkhead replied as Aomine sighed in relief. "And I've added some stuff into it. It'll be more scrumptious!" He gasped dramatically.

"OI! What have you done to my breakfast—" he rushed to the working appliance as the door jingled open.

"Mukkun! Welcome back!" Momoi greeted cheerfully, as the tall figure walked inside.

But for some reason his expression didn't reflect her cheerfulness. Momoi eyed her teammate as he muttered lazily, "I'm home..."

"Mukkun? What's wrong? Are you okay? Did you get enough sleep? You can skip the class today if you want, you look dreadful," the female chattered as Aomine tried to plug his ears. Instead of helpful, her questions could make Murasakibara annoyed, damn it.

The bluehead walked to his taller friend, observing him. His face looked dark and more than tired, his look best to be described as... Sad?

"...The hazelnut wafers were sold out."

Silence ensued.

...

"...You're being like this because of some wafers?!" Aomine yelled with Momoi grabbing his arms immediately. "Dai-chan! Mukkun's upset now!"

Momoi sat beside the giant teen on the sofa. "You mean the expensive hazelnut wafers? Your favorite ones?"

"Someone bought all of them when the store had just restocked them..." He muttered darkly, ripping open a pack of Maiubo. Both shorter teens watched him as he munched on his snack, muttering stuffs about crushing that lucky bastard, and swearing that the next time for restock he'd buy all of them.

"A-Anyway, Mukkun," Momoi interjected, "How's the mission?"

The purplehead pulled some papers from his bag, throwing them into Momoi's hands. "It went well, I guess."

He remembered the latest mission he'd just finished. A conglomerate family asked him to guard an important artifact of their ancestors as they delivered the item over to Sapporo, where it'd be kept safely inside a safe in the family's main household. He'd be lying if he said that it was a smooth trip. Some mafias tried to hijack their train but luckily he caught them easily without harm on him or the bodyguards or some family members who went along with him.

Although he did become tired after the mission.

"Missions are just plain troublesome," he mumbled out loud, hand scratching his purple tresses as he yawned.

Both Momoi and Aomine just sighed at his lack of enthusiasm in missions.

* * *

"Tetsu-chan~!"

Tetsuka blinked at the sight of a familiar pink-haired girl at her classroom door, and stood behind her was Aomine Daiki, his seemly permanent scowl attached to his face. She saw Momoi and Aomine threw a glare at Kise as the male begged forgiveness from them, then the team manager walked over to her seat, leaving Aomine yelling angrily at the almost crying blond. "How come you haven't forgiven me? It's been days!" Kise would whine while Aomine kicked him.

Ignoring the boys, Tetsuka turned to Momoi. "Tetsu-chan, wanna have lunch together with us? We're eating on the rooftop." Momoi grinned at her, tying her arms behind her back.

"If you don't mind, then," the turquoise-head said, grabbing a handful of wafers in her hand. Momoi stared at them in surprise. "Where did you get that?"

"The wafers? I bought them this morning."

The taller female's eyes widened. So she's the culprit! But then an idea popped in her head.

"I just remember! Our member just got back from his mission, and I think you have to meet him! He's the last member you haven't met yet," she explained cheerfully. "He likes sweets so much, so do you mind to share some of your wafers?"

Nodding, Tetsuka put some wafers into a plastic bag before standing up and walked with her new friend. Behind them were Kise and Aomine, now joking with each other. It seemed like they've solved their problems.

Tetsuka observed them quietly as she ate one of the wafers. She caught Momoi staring at her and her precious food. "So you bought all of them?"

She nodded. "Yes. Actually this is my favorite snack."

"Hee really? What a coincidence! It's Mukkun's favorite too,"

"Mukkun?"

"I'll introduce you to him when we get there,"

Finally arrived at the already occupied rooftop, Tetsuka bowed to Akashi and Midorima while Kise and Aomine went to their friends, and Momoi called the other boy; a very, very tall boy with striking purple locks. Tetsuka scanned the boy heavily, blue eyes widened in realization.

Momoi was dragging Murasakibara's hands when the hazelnut wafer in Tetsuka's mouth almost fell.

"Atsushi-kun?"

Violet eyes widened.

"Tetsu-chin…"

Curious pairs of eyes gaped at them, looking back and forward from their tallest friend to the much shorter one. Kise and Aomine almost choked on how close they addressed each other. Momoi's mouth was hanging open. Midorima furrowed his eyebrows heavier than usual. Meanwhile, Akashi only observed them, intrigued.

Murasakibara stepped forward, only to make Tetsuka take a step back, hiding the precious snacks behind her back. Both of them were smiling, at least their eyes couldn't hide their giddiness.

"I always told you to ask politely, not taking without permission." Tetsuka announced, sounding upset, although the visible glee in her face seemed to say otherwise. The giant grinned, usually empty eyes filled with joy. "Who says I want to take 'em? I was about to hug Tetsu-chin, you know," he whined childishly.

"Liar," Tetsuka chuckled, gaining surprised gasps from the spectators. Did she just laugh?

"Y-You know each other?" Momoi interjected, diverting Tetsuka's attention. She was about to answer when she felt Murasakibara's arms around her shoulders, embracing her from behind.

Momoi had to stifle a squeal as the others, except for Akashi, felt their breath hitch at the rare sight.

Tetsuka only turned her head softly, "You've grown taller again, Atsushi-kun."

"And you're still as short as ever," He rested his cheek against her soft turquoise locks, closing his eyelids somewhat peacefully. The shorter girl twitched in annoyance. "Stop mentioning my height—"

A cough interrupted their moment.

Akashi sauntered to the reuniting couple. "How surprising." He said flatly. "So, are you two," He eyed Murasakibara's arms that were wrapped around the girl's shoulders, "involved?"

Both teen stared at him. "Of course not. Tetsu-chin is my friend," The male replied first, followed by a simple nod from Tetsuka. "We've known each other for a long time, but," She studied her friend's features. "We haven't talked for almost two years, now."

Momoi voiced her thoughts, "So how did you know each other?" The others prepared their ears seriously, curious too about their meeting.

"I met Atsushi-kun when I was running away from home, he helped me a lot since then."

"Tetsu-chin gave me a lot of snacks, and most of them are rare and expensive," Murasakibara explained, still embracing the turquoise-head comfortably.

"But how? Kuroko was still living in Tokyo back then." Midorima asked.

Murasakibara scratched his head. "Actually at that time I was on a mission," He confessed to his friends and to Tetsuka, "Usually I met Tetsu-chin either on a mission or on weekends,"

His explanation gained some 'ooh's and 'aah's from his teammates.

In the end, the Generation of Miracles spent their lunch break eating their meals, meanwhile Murasakibara had his head rested on Tetsuka's the whole time, gaining some looks from their teammates.

"Atsushi-kun, don't eat your food in that position. The crumbs will fall on my head." The shortest female scolded him, only to be retorted, "But Tetsu-chin's hair smells good."

Momoi held another squeal while the others sighed.

"Oi, what's your relationship, really?" Aomine finally brave himself to ask.

Both of them only smiled.

"Tetsu-chin is like my mother…"

"…And I could say Atsushi-kun is like my son."

Many jaws were dropped that afternoon.

"EH?!"

* * *

It'd been days and almost weeks since Tetsuka reunited with her friend, and they'd been closer ever since. Let alone being in the same team, to enroll the same school had already surprised them very much.

Since then, Murasakibara often accompany Tetsuka in her training. Even sometimes Akashi trusted his teammate to coach her when he's not available-even though in Akashi's case, probably he had his own intention in doing so.

Tetsuka even had a sparring with some members of the Group. She had one with Aomine, Midorima, even Murasakibara. She didn't win even one match, but, the members had to admit that her skills were quite surprising. Her skills had increased, too. She did realize the improvement of her body. She'd gained speed, strength, even flexibility. Akashi even (indirectly) praised her very much improving agility. He also mentioned something about how close to being ready she was. Tetsuka never knew the meaning of those words until today.

Without her knowing, that day she was introduced to the whole members of Almighty Junior and Senior Division.

Murasakibara had led her to the official secret base of the whole team which was located underground. They accessed it from the door in the warehouse, which will lead them to one of the entrance (Tetsuka had yet to know the main entrance). Inside the secret base, all members of Almighty were already gathered inside. And by the time she'd arrived, all eyes immediately pinned her to the bone, which made her wondered where all those invisibility of her disappeared to. Akashi brought her to the front of the crowd and instructed her to introduce herself after he'd done with his words.

"Kuroko Tetsuka, number fifteen." She'd introduce herself, making sure no words were spoken with a stutter. Most of the teens were shocked by the announcement. How could a small frail girl like her become a member of the Elite Group? She'd stand with the Generation of Miracles and she'd just been introduced today. Most of them questioned her ability, much to Akashi's expectation. Well, even the members of the Elite Group hadn't believed her yet. Akashi just shrugged the complains off.

That didn't go well for Tetsuka, though. She was a wreck. She'd been nervous. And nobody believed in her ability, except for Akashi, maybe. She could even see a senior named Nijimura dashed to the front to talk personally with Akashi about his decision. The redhead just told the older teen to trust his actions and give her a chance. Nijimura said more stuffs in defense but finally gave in and let the second year to his thing. Tetsuka prayed the gathering would end after Akashi and Nijimura's conversation. But it seemed like god had other plans for her.

Instead, she had another surprise to slap her hard.

"Tomorrow, she'll be accompanying me in my next mission."

...said Akashi Seijuro (who almost made Tetsuka strangle him on the spot).

* * *

**A/N: Finally, after almost a month! I'm truly sorry for the wait, it's just arghh so many things happened. First; I broke up with my boyfriend. It seems simple, but it did a lot to me. It gave me Writer's Block, and whatever. I couldn't say I love this chapter. But still, I hope it you guys like it.**

**P.S: 1000+ VIEWS! Crackers is surprised :O**


End file.
